Chandigarh, March 17 — Nearly 200 houses built in Maloya under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) and later converted into the Affordable Housing Scheme have remained unallotted since 2015. Chandigarh MP Manish Tewari recently raised the issue in the Lok Sabha, questioning the state of these houses and Chandigarh’s failure to achieve slum-free status.
Tewari asked whether houses constructed under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana – Urban (PMAY-U) in Maloya were lying vacant and in a deteriorating condition. He also sought details on the number of houses built under PMAY-U and PMAY 2.0 projects in Chandigarh since their inception.
Responding to his query, Union Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs Tokhan Sahu stated that of the 2,195 houses constructed under JNNURM in Maloya—later converted into Affordable Rental Housing Complexes (ARHCs)—1,997 had been allotted on a rental basis and were in use. The conversion took place after JNNURM was discontinued on March 31, 2014.
However, Tewari argued that the actual number of unallotted houses in Maloya could be significantly higher than what was disclosed. The ministry further stated that 1,255 families in Chandigarh had benefited from interest subsidies under the Credit Linked Subsidy Scheme (CLSS) of PMAY-U. However, the UT administration has not submitted proposals under other verticals of the scheme.
Tewari also sought details on the number of beneficiaries under each PMAY-U vertical in Chandigarh, along with year-wise budget allocations and expenditure under PMAY and its successor, PMAY 2.0. In response, Sahu stated that PMAY-U 2.0, launched on September 1, 2024, aims to provide affordable housing to one crore additional beneficiaries through four components: Beneficiary Led Construction (BLC), Affordable Housing in Partnership (AHP), Affordable Rental Housing (ARH), and Interest Subsidy Scheme (ISS).
